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National Archives releases document on yeti-hunting standards

If you’ve ever wondered exactly what you should do if you came across a yeti, fear not – the US Government has you covered.

The National Archives released a document to its Tumblr page from 1959, detailing processes and procedures for what to do if hikers in Nepal came across the fabled creature. In addition to paying a fee of $5,000 rupee to the Nepalese government, hunters were permitted to photograph or capture the animal but could not kill it unless in self-defense.

National Archives archivist Mark Murphy told 7News the document was a copy of an original that he found while reviewing records several years ago.

"The subject popped right out at me and was a complete surprise since it was located in a general file about the 1959 political situation in Nepal," he said via email. "No other documents with similar subject matter were around it."

The document was a foreign service dispatch from the American Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal, titled, "Regulations Governing Mountain Climbing Expeditions in Nepal – Relating to Yeti" and dated Nov. 30, 1959.

The document also stated that any proof of the existence of the animal must be immediately surrendered to the Nepalese government and could not be publicized without the government’s permission.

"I can’t stress enough that the document is just an administrative record conveying regulations," Murphy said. "It does not confirm that the US Government nor the Government of Nepal believed the Yeti existed, but it’s fun to see that its existence isn’t discounted either."

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